The China based company which became the worlds 4th largest smartphone maker, Xiaomi announced another budget friendly device with great specs – Redmi 3. Most of it’s specs look similar with Remi Note 3 which we had seen couple of months ago, except its processor and display. The price also lesser compared to Redmi Note 3.

Here is a Spec sheet of the two –

Design and Display

If you look at the design, Redmi 3 has a unibody metallic frame like Note 3 but with diamond patterned back. Both devices are nicely crafted design would give you premium look, and good feel while holding in hand. Coming to display, Redmi 3 has a 5 inch 720p (1280 x 720 resolution), unlike Redmi Note 3, which had bigger 5.5 inch 1080p FHD display. When compared with Note 3, even though this display is lesser size and you can see differentiate the quality, it justifies the price tag. Also on a 5 inch screen, 720p resolution would give you great touch responsiveness, great brightness (for which Xiaomi devices are known for) and nice viewing angles. The dimensions of Redmi 3 are 139.3 x 69.6 x 8.5 mm and it weighs 144 grams in hand while Note 3 weighs 164 grams. The good thing about Redmi 3 when compared to Redmi Note 3 is – even though it had 4100 mAh battery (bigger than Note 3), it is 0.1 mm thin, and 20 grams lighter. This itself shows how carefully this device got designed. Redmi 3 also has a fingerprint scanner, same as in Redmi Note 3 to enhance security of the device and works well. If you are a fain of big HD display, go for Note 3. But keeping the display quality aside, the design wise, Redmi 3 is a winner.

Chipset and Operating System

Under the hood, Redmi 3 features Octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 616 SoC unlike the MediaTek X10 Soc which we had seen in Redmi Note 3. Running MIUI 7, Redmi 3 comes with 2 GB RAM, 16 GB flash storage which can be expandable up to 128 Gigs using MicroSD (hybrid). Same operating System in Redmi Note 3 too, but this has has two storage variants – 2GB RAM+16GB ROM and 3GB RAM+32GB ROM. If you compare Redmi Note 3 and Redmi 3, you would see difference in performance, but that said, Redmi 3 would also run smoothly without any hitches handling multi tasking and gaming. Even though 16 GB limited storage could be a down side of the device, you can use MicroSD card as a backup (of course, you have to sacrifice a SIM). Redmi Note 3 gives you two storage options to choose from depending on your requirement. Overall, you can expect pretty smooth experience in both the devices.

Camera
Coming to camera department, Redmi 3 has 13 MP (Phase Detect Auto focus, f/2.0, 0.1s Auto Focus) primary camera with LED on the back and 5 MP(f/2.2 aperture) sensor on the font side, same as in Redmi Note 3. Xiaomi is always known for delivering good camera performance with sharp images. So this camera also won’t disappoint you and give you nice shots in both devices. You can also shoot HD videos and for your selfies, front camera is there anyway.

Battery and Connectivity

Xiaomi Redmi 3 has a huge 4100 mAh battery, which is slightly bigger when compared to Redmi Note 3, which has 4000 mAh. Surely this device would give you slightly better battery backup when compared with later not only because it is of more capacity, but also it has lesser display to handle. So, if you are an average user, you can definitely get a full-day backup on this device. This device also supports 5V/2A fast charging, when you are in hurry. So, Redmi 3 is a winner in battery section.

Coming to connectivity, Both devices are 4G LTE enabled Dual SIM devices supporting other basic connectivity features such as Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi. Coming to price, Redmi 3 announced in China for RMB 699 (approx ₹7.1k) and Redmi Note 3 available for 899RMB (2GB Variant) which is approx equal to ₹9.3k and 1099 RMB (3GB Variant) which is approx equal to ₹11.2k.

Conclusion

Answering which device is better depends on your requirements. Both devices are great, but if you are a fan of big HD display, go for Note 3. And if you are okay with having display with slightly less quality, nice processor, nice camera, bigger battery then go for Redmi 3. In fact, Redmi 3 one of the few devices to offer a fingerprint scanner, at this price bracket. It has new shiny premium design, nice display, processor, camera and great battery all you need under 8k bucks while Note 3 has bigger FHD display, great processor, two storage options to choose from, nice camera and battery. Even though both doesn’t have features like NFC, FM Radio which we see in mobiles with similar price bracket, both are great devices. So you aren’t a fan of stock Android experience, and looking for a budget friendly devices, you can pick one of these with Xiomi’s promise.